Knicks Still Perfect At Home

Published: Sunday, December 2, 2012 at 11:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, December 3, 2012 at 3:54 a.m.

NEW YORK | Rasheed Wallace delivered a hard whack to Luis Scola, then some hard words to the referees.

These New York Knicks won't let anybody have it easy at Madison Square Garden, not even the officials.

Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and the Knicks ran their best home start in 20 years to 7-0, withstanding Wallace's ejection after a mere 1:25 of playing time to beat the Phoenix Suns 106-99 on Sunday.

Phoenix had won its last two at MSG but the Knicks have finally figured out under coach Mike Woodson that home-court games are not to be wasted. They are 18-1 in the regular season here since he took over last March, jumping on their last few opponents from the start.

"His whole thing when he came in is we're going to protect our home floor. We're going to win every game at home, or we're going to try to win every game at home, and we're going to go out on the road and compete," center Tyson Chandler said. "So his whole thing is we've got to protect our house. Teams coming in got to feel like they've got to go somewhere else to get a win."

Raymond Felton had 23 points, seven assists and no turnovers for the Knicks, who last won seven straight at Madison Square Garden to open a season when they started 9-0 in 1992-93. The point guard was hurting after the game. He went for an MRI exam that revealed a bone bruise in his swollen left hand.

"I got jammed in between another player," he said. "Just a lot of pain in my thumb."

<p>NEW YORK | Rasheed Wallace delivered a hard whack to Luis Scola, then some hard words to the referees. </p><p>These New York Knicks won't let anybody have it easy at Madison Square Garden, not even the officials. </p><p>Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and the Knicks ran their best home start in 20 years to 7-0, withstanding Wallace's ejection after a mere 1:25 of playing time to beat the Phoenix Suns 106-99 on Sunday. </p><p>Phoenix had won its last two at MSG but the Knicks have finally figured out under coach Mike Woodson that home-court games are not to be wasted. They are 18-1 in the regular season here since he took over last March, jumping on their last few opponents from the start. </p><p>"His whole thing when he came in is we're going to protect our home floor. We're going to win every game at home, or we're going to try to win every game at home, and we're going to go out on the road and compete," center Tyson Chandler said. "So his whole thing is we've got to protect our house. Teams coming in got to feel like they've got to go somewhere else to get a win." </p><p>Raymond Felton had 23 points, seven assists and no turnovers for the Knicks, who last won seven straight at Madison Square Garden to open a season when they started 9-0 in 1992-93. The point guard was hurting after the game. He went for an MRI exam that revealed a bone bruise in his swollen left hand. </p><p>"I got jammed in between another player," he said. "Just a lot of pain in my thumb."</p>